The beauty of satellite television, SNY Network and mlb.tv have gave me the opportunity to view the Orange and Blue over 150 games that season alone. I had watched this team from spring training through the entire season and seen them do amazing things. The 2015 version of the Metropolitans started off by reeling-off a perfect 10-game homestead in April. Now, of course no one could expect this trend to continue and of course it didn't. They were 2-3 after five games and were last at .500 on July 2nd at 40-40. On July 30th they lost to San Diego when with one out to go before winning it a torrential rainstorm caused a two-hour rain delay. The rain stopped just long enough for the Padres to go ahead 8-7 on a home run which was followed by another hour-long rain delay. Following THAT delay they could not muster a run and lost 8-7. They were 52-50 and they were pretty much languishing in their own despair.
The Washington Nationals, who were the preseason favorites to win it all, were underachieving and the Mets' front office decided that if the Nats wanted to spend the month of October on the golf course then they would assist them in their tee-time scheduling. After a couple of brilliant acquisitions the team took off. They won 37 of their next 54 games.
In early September I made a "magic number countdown" sheet which I quickly drew up one day while on a break at work. It showed the schedules of the Nationals and Mets through remainder of the month. I guessed which games each teams would lose and this would show a running magic number down the side. I didn't anticipate a rainout which the Nationals had in Baltimore, but it came out with the Mets clinching the division during either the third or fourth game of their series in Cincinnati. Now, I have a high school friend who lives in Cincinnati and had made arrangements to have tickets to the Saturday game in The Queen City. These tickets had been purchased BACK IN JUNE. It was just going to be a fun out of town trip to see some late-season baseball, because there was no expectation that a division title may be at stake when the purchase took place.
My late wife Bryn had become a big Mets fan over the years of our marriage, at that time closing in on 24 years in length. I wanted her to experience firsthand what it was like to be at a game with playoff implications. So on September 14th we traveled to New York to see the Mets take on the Miami Marlins in seats located just 5 rows directly behind home plate. We see them win 4-3 and head back home the next day. I told her that the Saturday game, which we already had tickets for, was the game which I predicted would either clinch a tie for the division title or a flat-out winning of the NL East.
In early September I made a "magic number countdown" sheet which I quickly drew up one day while on a break at work. It showed the schedules of the Nationals and Mets through remainder of the month. I guessed which games each teams would lose and this would show a running magic number down the side. I didn't anticipate a rainout which the Nationals had in Baltimore, but it came out with the Mets clinching the division during either the third or fourth game of their series in Cincinnati. Now, I have a high school friend who lives in Cincinnati and had made arrangements to have tickets to the Saturday game in The Queen City. These tickets had been purchased BACK IN JUNE. It was just going to be a fun out of town trip to see some late-season baseball, because there was no expectation that a division title may be at stake when the purchase took place.
My late wife Bryn had become a big Mets fan over the years of our marriage, at that time closing in on 24 years in length. I wanted her to experience firsthand what it was like to be at a game with playoff implications. So on September 14th we traveled to New York to see the Mets take on the Miami Marlins in seats located just 5 rows directly behind home plate. We see them win 4-3 and head back home the next day. I told her that the Saturday game, which we already had tickets for, was the game which I predicted would either clinch a tie for the division title or a flat-out winning of the NL East.
The magic number 1 going into the Saturday game against the Reds. We left Minneapolis early in the morning and had to fly to Columbus and then drove the 100+ miles to "The 'Nati". We arrived at Great American Ballpark in the bottom of the fifth due to a 90-minute flight delay out of Chicago Midway and some traffic on the interstate.
We'd listened to the game while en route on the Reds' flagship station, WLW-AM. The Mets were in great shape and lead by a 7-2 score with Matt Harvey on the mound. The game was 10-2 going to the bottom of the 9th frame and Jeurys Familia on the mound to close it out. Familia had been a savior of the season out of the bullpen. He was penciled-in to be the set-up man for the closer Henry Mejia. Mejia got hurt warming up on opening day in Washington and went on the injured list. But before he could get off of the IL he was suspended for 81 games for violating MLB's substance abuse policy. Familia didn't miss a beat and just after the All-Star Game Mejia was eligible to return. But before that could happen, Mejia was suspended again for the same offense, this time for a full year. And thus the legend of Jeurys Familia was off and running.
Familia closed out the division clincher by striking out future Met Jay Bruce and the team celebrated on the field and then in the clubhouse. Bryn and I had been seated directly behind the Reds' dugout and made our way down the concourse to the sections behind the visitors dugout. At one point the team came out and greeted those of us Met fans who were behind their dugout after they had partied in the clubhouse. It was such a blast to be a part of the on-field celebration. I actually ended up with champagne getting on my jacket in the post-game, sprayed on us by none other than manager Terry Collins himself. So it was from one Collins to another, I guess. Who wouldn't love being a part of that?
The playoffs brought the Los Angeles Dodgers in the League Division Series. The Mets won game 1 and lost game 2 after the now-infamous sliding play involving Chase Utley. I will save my opinion about the umpires' decision for another time, but it mattered little as the Mets then took on the Chicago Cubs in the National League Championship Series. They won the best-of-seven series 4-0, surprising the masses and making the Mets' fan base ecstatic. Not many people could've imagined this scenario back in June or July.
The World Series began in Kansas City due to the fact that the American League had won the All-Star Game in July. The Royals jumped on top in the bottom of the first inning as they scored on an inside the park homer on the first pitch thrown by Matt Harvey. They came back to tie the score and even go ahead, just to lose the lead in the bottom of the ninth inning. The Royals won in the bottom of the 14th inning.
From there the team just wasn't quite the same. They only won the third game of the series, the first World Series ever played at Citi Field. The "feel good" game, as I call it. The Royals closed out the series on a strikeout of late-season hero Wilmer Flores.
The trip to Cincinnati was an absolute blast. It's hard to believe that 8 years since that day we traveled to Ohio to see the clincher. Bryn lost her 3-year battle with COPD and Parkinson's in April 2022, but I know she enjoyed the trip and the eventual outcome. And for that September 26th will always be a special date. .
